Ornamental panel assembly for fireplace



Feb. 19, 1963 R. c. HATCHER ORNAMENTAL PANEL. ASSEMBLY FOR FIREPLACE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 23 1960 ulllllill. ulllllil/ I INVENTholL ROBEQTCIHQTCHEA? ATTQRNEY Feb. 19, 1963 R. c. HATCHER 3,077,923

ORNAMENTAL PANEL ASSEMBLY FOR FIREPLACE Filed Feb. 23, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ROBERTCHQTCHER ATTORN EY Uited States Patent Otitice 3,@7723 Patented Feb. 19, 1953 3,077,923 GRNAMENTAL PANEL ASSEMBLY FR FIREPLACE Robert S. Hatcher, 1864 Windsor Road, San Marino, Calif.

Filed Feb. 23, i960, Ser. No. 10,167 19 Claims. (Cl. 160-38) This invention relates to the construction of an ornamental panel assembly to span a wall opening together with means for holding the ornamental panel assembly in position. The invention has special utility for use in a fireplace opening as an upper panel assembly to support a metal lire screen and also as a lower panel assembly to serve as what is termed a lire bar. These particular uses of the invention will be described herein for the purpose of disclosure and will adord adequate guidance for those skilled in the art who may have occasion to apply the same principles to other speciiic purposes.

One of the primary objects of the invention is to provide an upper panel assembly incorporating convenient and elicient means for engaging the fireplace wall structure for permanent support of the upper panel assembly and the fire curtain or screen carried thereby.

lt is old in the art to recess the fireplace wall structure for this purpose but such recessing requires time and skill with consequent additional cost. It is also old to provide a plurality of pointed screws at the opposite ends of such an assembly to be tightened against opposite interior wall surfaces of the fireplace to hold the assembly in position. Such a construction has the disadvantage or' being awkward to install and has the further disadvantage of making less than reliable positive engagement with the wall structure. The pointed screws, moreover, are oset from the load imposed by the metal screen with the consequence that the weight of the iire screen or curtain exerts a turning moment on the assembly.

It is also old to provide an upper panel assembly that expands longitudinally against the opposite wall surfaces of the fireplace opening, the panel assembly being stressed in longitudinal compression to stay in place. In such an arrangement the wall structure is engaged close to the plane of the lire screen to reduce the turning moment imposed by the weight of the lire screen but here again the wall structure is not positively engaged for reliably supporting the iire screen.

The present invention uses hanger means incorporating jaws to grip the lintel at the top edge of the iireplace. Exceedingly high gripping pressure is acheived by employing pairs of toggle-type jaws and is further achieved by fulcruming one of the toggle jaws of each pair for a leverage advantage. ln the preferred practice of the invention, two toggle jaw assemblies are provided and two corresponding rigid support arms of the panel assembly are clamped against the underside of the lintel by the toggle jaw assemblies.

One feature of the preferred embodiment of the invention is that each toggle jaw assembly is operated by a single screw which thrusts upward against the corresponding support arm of the panel assembly for the dual purpose of tightening the grip of the toggle jaws on the lintel and of clamping the support arm of the panel assembly against the lintel. Another feature is the concept of shaping one of the toggle jaws for fulcrum engagement with the corresponding support arm to achieve the desired leverage advantage.

A further feature is the concept of incorporating spring means in each of the toggle jaw assemblies to bias the jaws towards their closed positions. The spring means make it possible to mount the two toggle jaw assemblies initially on the underside of the lintel in a self-supporting manner with the operating screws loose. The panel assembly may then be placed in the desired position with the support arms of the panel assembly extending through the two self-supported toggle jaw assemblies and nally the screws of the two toggle jaw assemblies may be tightened to create positive gripping and clamping pressure for permanent effective support of the panel assembly and the metal lire screen or curtain `carried thereby. A still further feature is the concept of a toggle jaw assembly that is made entirely of sheet metal stampings.

Another primary object of the invention is to provide an ornamental panel assembly of this general type that may be readily adjusted in length to iit into the width of any given ireplace opening. This object is attained by a basic combination of a central support panel, two auxiliary end panels that are slidingly mounted on the opposite ends of the support panel and an outer ornamental panel. The two auxiliary end panels overlie the front of the support panel with a central gap between the two, and the ornamental panel covers the gap between the two auxiliary panels.

The ornamental panel may be of sufficient length to extend over the full width of the iireplace opening to cover and conceal not only the support panel but also the two auxiliary end panels. ln such an arrangement, the ornamental panel must be of correct length but it may be made of thin, easily sheared sheet metal to simplify installation.

ln another practice of the invention, the outer ornamental panel is relatively short to leave substantial portions of the two auxiliary end panels exposed to view. Such a construction is freely adjustable in length to span the fireplace opening and eliminates the necessity of shearing the ornamental panel to length.

The basic combination of a support panel, two slidingly mounted auxiliary end panels and an ornamental panel greatly reduces inventory costs since only the support panel need be produced in various lengths for iireplace openings of various widths. Thus with each of these basic combinations entendible in length by four inches, the auxiliary panels may be stocked in lengths varying in longitudinal dimension by four inches.

One of the problems in such a construction is to provide means to suspend a pair of metal curtains from the panel assembly and to provide manually operable means to open and close the two iire curtains. The suspension means must be capable of contraction and expansion alone with the panel assembly in the installation of the panel assembly in a fireplace opening. In a preferred embodiment of the invention this problem is solved by providing a pair of curtain rods which overlap in length at their inner ends, by providing rearwardly extending end flanges on the two auxiliary end panels for xedly supporting the outer ends of the two curtain rods, and by providing means on the rear face of the support channel to support the overlapping inner ends of the curtain rods in a sliding manner.

The various features and advantages of the invention may be understood by reference to the fol-lowing detailed description together with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, which are to be regarded as merely illustrative FIG. 1 is a front elevational View showing a fireplace opening equipped with an upper ornamental panel assembly to support a pair of lire screens and also equipped with a lower ornamental panel assembly to serve as a lire bar;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary rear perspective View of an embodiment of the invention to serve as an upper ornamental panel assembly for carrying a pair of fire screens;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the parts that comprise the basic ycombination in the panel assembly shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. l is a rear elevational view of a portion of the panel assembly as seen along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2',

FIG. 5 is a transverse section taken as indicated by the line 5-5 of FIG. 2 and showing the construction of a central bracket for supporting the inner ends of the two curtain rods;

FIG. 6 is a transverse cross section taken as indicated by the line 6-6 of FIG. 2 showing how a support arm is incorporated in the panel assembly and also showing how one of a pair of curtain rods is supported at its outer end;

FIG. 7 is a transverse section along the line 7--7 of FIG. 4 showing the construction of a sheet metal member tor routing a chain that controls a pair of iiexi-ble re curtains; Y

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary rear elevational view as seen along the line a-S of FIG. 2 showing another sheet metal member for routing' the tire curtain chain;

FIGURE 9 is a transverse section taken as indicated by the line 9;-9 of FIG. 8 yto show the onstrnctin of the same sheet metal member;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the central bracket that supports the inner ends of the two curtain rods;

FIG. 11 is an end elevation of the installed panel as sembly showing how the panel assembly is supported by toggle jaws that grip the lintel at the top of the fireplace opening;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the linte'l of the fireplace with the adjacent wall structure omitted, the purpose of the View being to show how a toggle jaw assembly grips the lintel in a self-supporting manner with the operating screw of the toggle jaw assembly loose;

FIG. 13 is an exploded view showing the parts of a toggle jaw assembly; l

FIG. 14 is a front elevation of the installed panel assembly with the fire curtains omitted;

FIG. 15 is an exploded view of the parts of a second embodiment of the invention that serves as a re bar at the bottom of a fireplace opening; and

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary rear elevation of the assembled tire bar as Viewed along the line 15-16 of FIG. 15.

FIG. 1 shows a rectangular replace opening 2u in a fireplace wall 22. One embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. l is an upper ornamental panel assembly, generally designated 24, which lcarries a pair of exible linletype fire curtains 25 and 26 under the control of an elongated tlexible member or control chain 23 having two handles 3d on its two ends. A second embodiment of the invention is a lower ornamental panel assembly, generally designated 32, which serves as a fire bar across the lower edge of the iireplace opening.

The upper ornamental panel assembly 24 shown in FIG. 1 has an ornamental panel 34a which may, for example, be made of .thin sheet brass with a filigree pattern, which ornamental panel extends over the full length of the panel assembly. Thus only the ornamental panel is visible from the front.

In some instances, a shorter ornamental panel may be centrally positioned to leave end portions of the underlying panel structure exposed to view. FIGS. 2, 3 and 14 show such an ornamental panel assembly, generally designated 24a, with a relatively short, centrally positioned ornamental panel 34a. The construction of the upper ornamental panel assembly 24a is shown in FIGS. 2 to 13 and will now be described.

The basic combination in the ornamental panel assembly 24a, as best shown in FIG. 3, comprises a support panel 35, a pair of auxiliary end panels 36 and 38 that are slidingly mounted on the opposite ends of the support panel, and the previously mentioned relatively short ornamental panel 34a. The inner ends of the two auxiliary end panels 36 and 38 are spaced apart with a gap therebetween and the central ornamental panel 34a covers this gap. Thus, as may be seen in FIG. 14, the two auxiliary end panels 36 and 33 are exposed to view at the opposite ends of the ornamental panel 34a. With the ornamental facing panel 34a made of filigreed brass, the two auxiliary end panels 36 and 38 may be given a black finish for contrast to produce a pleasing decorative effect.

The support panel 35 may be a relatively rigid flat plate or bar. Each of the two auxiliary end panels 36 and 3S may be made of thinner metal formed with an upper longitudinal tlange 40 and a lower longitudinal flange 42 to embrace the support panel 3S in a sliding manner. The auxiliary end panel 36 is formed with an integral angular end flange 44 to support the outer end of a curtain rod 45 and in like manner the second auxiliary end panel 38 is formed with an integral angular end flange 46 to support the outer end of a second curtain rod 4S. The manner in which the outer end of a curtain rod 45 or 4S is mounted in an angular end ange 44 or 46 may be seen in FIGS. 4 and 6. K

As shown in FIG', 6, the end iiange of the auxiliary panel member is formed with a vertical keyhole slot 50 to receive the outer end of the curtain rod. The larger portion of the slot is dimensioned to receive the end ot the curtain rod and the narrower portion of the keyhole slot engages the curtain rod by a pair of kerfs or shallow slots (not shown) in opposite sides of the curtain rod.

The metal is lanc'ed to form tbe keyhole slot 50' and to form a bent tongue 52 at the lower end of the keyhole slot, The tongue 57.' is drilled and tapped to receive a screw 54 which supports the end of the curtain rod and which may be adjusted to raise or lower the end of the curtain rod. This adjustability makes it possible to hang the ire screen horizontally when the panel assembly is positioned somewhat out of horizontal to conform `to a lintel that is out of horizontal.

In the present embodiment of the invention, a small sheet metal clip 55 is apcrtured to receive the curtain rod and lies on one side of the end flange of the auxiliary panel member. A curved tongue 56 of the clip extends through the keyhole slot 50 to engage and retain an'end ring S8 of the corresponding fire curtain.

The inner ends of the two curtain rods 45 and 48 overlap in length and are slidingly supported by a central bracket 60 that is adjustably mounted on the rear face of the support panelSS. In the construction shown, the central bracket 60 which is made of sheet metal has a pair of vertical slots 62 (FIG. 10) to receive a corresponding pair of screws 64 (FIG. 5) by means of which it is adjustably attached to Ithe support panel 35. The central bracket 6G also has a tongue 65 that is apertured for sliding support of the inner end of the curtain rod 45 and has a more rearward tongue 66 that is apertured for sliding support of the inner end of the second curtain rod 48. As shown in FIG. 10, each of the curtain rods may be formed with a dimple 68 at its extreme inner end to prevent inadvertent complete withdrawal of the curtain rod out of engagement with the central bracket 60.

A feature of the selected embodiment of the invention is the use of stationary arcuate guides instead of the usual pulley means to route the control chain 28 for opening and closing the pair of fire curtains 25 and 26. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, a small sheet metal member 7) may be mounted facewise on the back of the support panel 35 near one end thereof and offset rearwardly 4to form a pair of grooves 72 and 74 which serve as guide channels for theV control chain 2S. The guide channelsV are of arcuate configuration for changes in direction of the control chain.

In like manner, a second small sheet metal member 75 may be mounted on the support panel 35 near its other end. This second sheet metal member 75 is formed with a single arcuate groove 7S which serves as a guide channel for a change in direction of the control chain. This arrangement forms the control chain into two horizontal runs which travel in opposite directions and which are connected to the two tire curtains 2S and 26 in la well.

known manner for opening and closing of the curtains.

The previously mentioned ornamental panel 34a which covers the central gap between the two auxiliary end panels 36 and 38 may be formed with an upper longitudinal ange 76 and a lower longitudinal flange 7S to engage the upper and lower edges of the two auxiliary end panels 36 and 46. .Preferably the ornamental panel 34a is relatively thin and flexible so that it may simply be snapped into position. In the construction shown the upper longitudinal ilange 76 of the ornamental panel 34a is formed with a recess or notch Si) and the previously mentioned central bracket 60 is formed with an upwardly extending tongue S2 to engage the notch 80 and to center the ornamental panel.

The basic combination comprising the support panel 3S, the two auxiliary end panels 36 and 3S, and the ornamental panel 34a may be mounted along the upper edge ot the fireplace opening 2G in any suitable manner. In the selected embodiment of the invention, the basic combination is anchored tothe angle iron lintel of the fireplace by a pair of togole jaw assemblies in the manner shown in FIG. 11. For this purposethe support panel 35 is provided with apairjof spaced rigid support arms 84 as shown in FIGS. 2, 3,'4, 6 and lll Each of thev support arms 84S may comprise a metal bar with an end ange as shown and each of the support arms may be mounted on the support panel 35 in a manner that permits both vertical 'and horizontal adjustment. Such an arrangement makes it possible to install the upper panel assembly 24a in a horizontal position even when the upper edge of the fireplace opening 20 is out of horizontal. The horizontal adjustability of the support arms 84 makes it possible to avoid minor obstructions in the masonry of the replace.

As best shown in FIG. 4, each of the support arms 8'4 may be secured to the support panel 35 by a screw 85 and a cooper-ating nut 36. The screw 85 extends through a horizontal slot S8 in the support panel 35' and through vertical slot 9d in the end ange of the support arm 84, the scre having a square sha-nk for engagement with the vertical slot in a nonrotatable manner. It is `apparent that loosening of the nut 36 permits the screw to be adjusted horizontally along 'the slot S3 and also permits the support arm .to `be adjusted vertically relative to the screw.

As shown in FIG. 13, each of the two toggle jaw assemblies `that cooperate with the two support arms 84 respectively may comprise -a set of sheet metal stampings together with .an operating thumb screw 11. Thus, a toggle jaw assembly comp-rises a pair of channel-shaped toggle jaws 94 and 95, and la ilat pivot member 96. Each of the toggle jaws 9d and 95 is formed with a central web 98 and two longitudinal side anges 10b. The pivot member 96 which has a threaded bore 1112 to receive the thumbpscrew 92 is formed with la pa-ir of t-runnions 1134. The -two side flanges of the toggle jaw 94 form a pair of hook elements $5 to engage the trunnions 104 and also form .a pair of upwardly extending jaw ele-ments 1116 to engage the fireplace lintel. ln like manner, the side flanges of `the second toggle jaw 95 form hook elements 193 to ent-*age the trunnio-ns 194 and a -pair of upwardly xtending jaw elements 11d :to engage the fireplace lintel.

Each of the toggle jaw .assemblies stra-ddles Ithe correspending support arm 84 from below .in the manner shown in FIG. 1l and a feature of this embodiment of the invention is that the two jaw elements 110 are formed with opposite recesses 112 to engage the support arm and fulcrum on the support yarrn to provide a leverage advantage. Thus when lthe thumb screw 92 is tightened upward against the underside of the corresponding support arm 84 with the two toggle jaws positioned to grip an angle iron lintel 114 in the manner shown in FIG. l1, the two toggle jaws 94 and 95 function with toggle `action to grip the l-intel and, in addition, the toggle jaw 95 functions as a lever having -a relatively long arm connected to the thumb screw 92 for actuation thereby and having a relatively short arm for multiplied force Iagainst the lintel.

Preferably each of the toggle jaw assemblies includes suitable spring means -to bias the two toggle jaws towards their closed positions. For this purpose each toggle jaw assembly may include an angular leaf spr-ing as show-n in FIG. 13. The leaf spring 115 has a central aperture 116 to clear the thumb screw 92 and has two tlexible ends to -be-ar against the webs $8 of the two toggle jaws to urge the 4two toggle jaws towards their closed positions. The addition of the leaf spring 115 makes it possible for each of the toggle jaw assemblies to grip a lintel in ya self-supporting manner without tightening of the thumb screw 92.

The manner in which the described ornamental panel assembly 24a serves its purpose may be readily understood from the foregoing description. In preparation for yinstall-ing the ornamental panel assembly, the two toggle jaw assemblies are engaged with the lintel 114 at spaced points to grip the lintel in ya self-supporting manner underthe force of the leaf springs 115. The assembled basic combination comprising the support panel 35, the two auxiliary end panels 36 and 38 and the ornamental panel 34a is maneuvered -to insert the two support arms 84 through the two toggle jaw assemblies. Then each of the two thumb screws 92 is ltightened to the position shown in FIG. 11 to cause the `two toggle jaw assemblies to grip to the lintel with sutiicient force to support :the imposed weight and to clamp the two sup-port arms 34 firmly against the underside of the lintel. The two auxiliary end panels 36 and 38 may then be slidingly extended to the ful-l width of the replace opening Ztl, the two curtain rods 42 and 45 sliding in the two tongues 65 md 66 of the central bracket 60 to follow the sliding movement of the auxiliary panels.

If the panel assembly is not horizontal, either or bo-th of the supp-ort .arms 34 may be appropriately adjusted. if it is desirable to adjust Ithe two curtain rods 53 and 45 either to make the upper edges of the two tire curtains horizontal or to make the lower edges of the tire screens conform to Ia bottom edge of a fireplace opening that is slightly out of horizontal, it is a simple matter to adj-ust one `or both of the screws 54 at the outer end of the curtain rods and, if necessary, to adjust the central bracket di) that supports the inner ends of the curtain rods.

The lower ornamental panel assembly 32 that serves as a lire bar in PEG. 1 may be constructed in the manner shown in FIGS. 15 and 16. Here again, the ornamental panel assembly comprises the basic combination lof a support panel 120, ya pair of auxiliary end panels 122 and 124 that `are slidingly mounted on the ends of the support panel, and an ornamental panel 125 which is made of ligreed brass, for example, and which extends the full length of the fireplace opening to conceal the remainder of the panel assembly.

The support panel 1210 may be a piece of rigid bar stock that is adapted in any suitable manner for engagement with the fireplace structure. In this instance a pair of angular brackets 126 are mounted at opposite ends or the support panel and the angular brackets are provided with thumb screws 12S to thrust against the opposite wall surfaces that define the fireplace opening Ztl. Each of the two brackets 125 is formed with a longitudinal groove 13@ to receive a pair of screws 132 for longitudinal adjustment of the bracket relative to the support panel.

Each of the auxiliary end panels 122 and 124 has an upper longitudinal tiange 134 and a lower longitudinal iange 135 to embrace the support panel 121B in a sliding manner. In addition, each of the auxiliary end panels 122 and 124 has a rearwardly bent end flange 136 for engagement by the corresponding angular bracket 126.

r[he ornamental panel 125 is formed with an upper longitudinal iiange 13S and a lower longitudinal Harige 14@ to embrace the two auxiliary end panels 122 and 124. As heretofore indicated, the ornamental panel 125 may be made of thin enough material to be readily sheared to length when the installation is m-ade.

annees i in preparation for installation of the described lower ornamental panel assembly 32, the two angular brackets 126 at the opposite ends of the support panei i211 are adjusted to slide easily into the iireplace opening and then the screws 132 are tightened. The two auxiliary end panels 122 and 124i are then mounted on opposite ends of the support panel Zii. The ornamental pane-l 12.5 is cut to length and mounted on the two auxiliary end panels l22 and 124i. The panel assembly is then placed in the desired position in the lower part of the fireplace opening and is secured by tightening the two thumb screws 128 against the wall structure of the fireplace opening.

Alternatively, the ornamental panel 12S may be a relatively short centrally positioned panel to avoid the necessity of cutting it to rit the width of the replace. Such a construction would be identical inrapjlearanceV to the rlseviously described panel assembly 2da shown in FIG.

My description in specic detail ofthe selected embodiments of the invention will suggest various' changes, substitutions and other departures from my disclosure within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

l claim:

l. An ornamental panel assembly' toextend horizontally across a portion of an opening in a wall structure of a building, comprising: a central elongated support panel shorter than the width of the wall opening; means mounted on said central panel to lixedly engage the wall structure to hold said central support panel in a central position spaced from both ends of the opening; a pair of elongated auxiliary end panels slidingly supported by the opposite ends of said support panel to extend therefrom to the opposite ends of said opening with a gap between the inner ends of the auxiliary panels; and an elongated ornamental panel covering the gap between the auxiliary panels in engagement with the auxiliary panels.

2. A combination as set forth in claim vl in which said means to engage the wall structure comprises a pair of means on the opposite ends respectively of said support panel, at least one of said pair of means being adjustably extensible into engagement with the wall structure at the corresponding end of the ireplace opening to place the support panel under longitudinal stress for anchorage in the opening.

3. A combination as set forth in claim 2 in which each of the means of said pair comprises an angular bracket adjustably mounted on the support panel together with a screw on the angular bracket to be tightened against the wall structure at the corresponding end of the fireplace opening.

4. Means to mount a pair of flexible iire curtains across the fireplace opening of a fireplace structure, said mounting means comprising: a central elongated horizontal support panel shorter than the width of the opening; means to rixedly anchor 'said support panel to the replace structure; two elongated auxiliary panels slidinglly mounted on the opposite ends, respectively, of said support panel and extending beyond said ends, said auxiliary panels extending over the front of the support panel with a gap between the two auxiliary panels; an elongated ornamental panel mounted on the two auxiliary panels and concealing the base panel across said gap; two rods to support the upper edges of said iire curtains respectively, said rods overlapping in length at their inner ends; means extending rearwardly from the opposite ends of said auxiliary panels to fixedly support the outer ends of said rods; and central means extending rearward from said support panel to slidingly support the overlapping inner ends of said rods.

5. A combination as set forth in claim 4 in which said ornamental panel extends the full length of the combined support panel and auxiliary panels.

6. Means to mount a pair of liexible iire curtains across the fireplace opening of a ireplace structure, said mounting means comprising: an elongated central hori- .zontal support panel' shorter than the width' of the opening; means to fxedly anchor said support panel to the iireplace structure; two auxiliary panels slidingly mounted on the opposite ends, respectively, of said support panel and extending beyond said ends, said auxiliary panels extending over the :front of the support panel'with a gap between the two auxiliary panels; an ornamental panel mounted on the two auxiliary panels and concealing the base panel across said gap; two rods to support the upper edges .of said tire curtains respectively, said rods overlapping in length at their inner ends; means extending rearwardly from the opposite ends of. said auxiliary panels to ixedly support the outer ends of said rods; central means extending rearward from said support panel to slidingly support the overlapping inner ends of said rod-s; and means to raise or lower at least one end of each of said rods relative to the support panel for leveling adjustment of said tire' curtains. j

7. A combination as set forth in claim 6 which includes vertically adjustable screws supporting the outer ends of said two rods.

8. A combination as set forth in claim 6 in which said central means is vertically adjustable on the support panel.

9. In an' ornamental assembly for mounting across a fireplace opening of a fireplace structure wherein the lireplace structure includes a lintel across the fireplace opening, means for supporting the assembly comprising: a pair of spaced arms extending rearwardly from the' assembly 'for support thereof, said arms being positioned to be adjacent the underside of said lintel; a pair of angulartoggle jaws for each of said support arms having upwardly extending forked ends straddling the support arm from below and adapted to engage the inner and outer longitudinal edges of said lintel; means pivotally yconnecting the inner ends of the toggle jaws of each of said pairs; and screw means carried by each of said pivot means to thrust upward against the underside of the corresponding support arm to tighten the pair of toggle jaws into gripping engagement with the lintel and simultaneously to clamp the support ar-m against the lintel.

10. A combination as set forth in claim 9 in which one forked end of a toggle jaw of each of said pairs is shaped to engage the corresponding support arm vfrom opposite sides to fnlcrum on the support arm for leverage to increase the gripping pressure of the toggle jaws on the lintel.

ll. In an ornamental assembly for mounting across a fireplace opening of a fireplace structure wherein the replace structure includes a lintel across the replace opening, lmeans for supporting the assembly comprising: a pair of spaced arms extending rearwardly from the assembly for support thereof, said arms being positioned to be adjacent the underside of said lintel; two pairs of angular toggle jaws having upwardly extending forked ends to straddle said support arms respectively from below and to engage the inner and outer longitudinal edges of said lintel; means pivotally connecting the inner ends of the toggle jaws of each of said pairs of toggle jaws; screw means carried by each of said pivot means to thrust upward against the underside of the corresponding support arm to tighten the pair of toggle jaws into gripping enga-gement with the lintel and simultaneously to clamp the support arm against the lintel; and spring means carried by each of said pairs of toggle jaws to urge the pair of toggle jaws into gripping engagement with the lintel for initially supporting the toggle jaws in preparation `for manual tightening of said screw means.

l2. A combination as set -forth in claim ll in which said spring means is a leaf spring with its central portion engaging the pivot lmeans and its opposite ends engaging the respective toggle jaws.

13. ln anA ornamental assembly yfor mounting across a fireplace opening ofa fireplace structure wherein the fireplace structure includes a lintel across the replace opening, means for supporting the assembly comprisingi a pair of spa-ced arms extending rearwardly from the assem-bly for support thereof, said arms being positioned to be adjacent the underside of said lintel; and a pair of toggle jaw assemblies to grip said lintel and to clamp said arms respectively against the underside of the lintel, each of said toggle jaw assemblies comprising two toggle jaws, pivot means connecting the inner ends of the toggle jaws and screw means carried by the pivot means to thrust upward against the underside of the corresponding support arm, each of said toggle jaws being in the form of a sheet metal stamping with a central web and a pair of upwardly bent longitudinal side flanges, said pair of side flanges being formed at one end to engage said pivot means and having upward jaw extensions at the other end to straddle the corresponding support arm and make gripping engagement with one edge of the lintel.

14. A combination as set forth in claim 13 in which said pair of side iianges are shaped for hook engagement with the pivot means.

15. A combination as set forth in claim 13 which includes a leaf spring fulciumed on said pivot member with its opposite ends engaging said webs of the toggle jaws to urge the pair of toggle jaws into gripping engagement with the lintel for initial support of the toggle jaws by the lintel in preparation for manual tightening of said screw means.

16. A combination as set forth in claim 13 in which said pivot means is a at plate member formed with opposite trunnion portions to engage the two toggle arms and further provided with a central threaded bore to receive said screw means.

17. A toggle jaw -assembly to grip a rst member and to clamp a second elongated member against the rst member transversely thereof, comprising: a pair of angular toggle jaws having upwardly extending forked ends to straddle said second member and to engage the inner and outer edges of said rst member; means pivotally connecting the inner ends of said toggle jaws; and screw means carried by said pivot means to thrust against said second member to tighten the pair of toggle jaws into gripping engagement with said first member and simultaneously to clamp the second member against the rst member.

18. A combination as set forth yin claim 17 in which one forked end of one of said toggle jaws is shaped to engage the second member from opposite sides to fulcrum on the second member for leverage to increase the gripping pressure of the toggle jaws on the rst member.

19. A combination as set forth in claim 17 which includes spring means to urge said toggle jaws towards their closed positions for initially gripping said rst member to support the toggle jaw assembly in preparation for manual tightening of the screw means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 296,734 Dodge Apr. 15, 1884 527,383 Carlson Oct. 9, 1894 801,650 Culture Oct. 10, 1905 1,158,677 Gilbert Nov. 2, 1915 1,858,967 Pettigrew May 17, 1932 2,275,236 Shannon Mar. 3, 1942 2,313,496 Adams Mar. 9, 1943 2,356,892 Shannon Aug. 29, 1944 2,476,635 Southwick July 19, 1949 2,562,371 Shannon July 31, 1951 2,562,562 Manasek July 31, 1951 2,569,518 Deutsch et a1. Oct. 2, 1951 2,739,644 Brand Mar. 27, 1956 2,846,998 Robinson Aug. 12, 1958 2,941,591 Meyer June 21, 1960 2,963,250 Bott et al. Dec. 6, 1960 3,018,774 Rubens Ian. 30, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 652,788 Great Britain May 2, 1951 

4. MEANS TO MOUNT A PAIR OF FLEXIBLE FIRE CURTAINS ACROSS THE FIREPLACE OPENING OF A FIREPLACE STRUCTURE, SAID MOUNTING MEANS COMPRISING: A CENTRAL ELONGATED HORIZONTAL SUPPORT PANEL SHORTER THAN THE WIDTH OF THE OPENING; MEANS TO FIXEDLY ANCHOR SAID SUPPORT PANEL TO THE FIREPLACE STRUCTURE; TWO ELONGATED AUXILIARY PANELS SLIDINGLY MOUNTED ON THE OPPOSITE ENDS, RESPECTIVELY, OF SAID SUPPORT PANEL AND EXTENDING BEYOND SAID ENDS, SAID AUXILIARY PANELS EXTENDING OVER THE FRONT OF THE SUPPORT PANEL WITH A GAP BETWEEN THE TWO AUXILIARY PANELS; AN ELONGATED ORNAMENTAL PANEL MOUNTED ON THE TWO AUXILIARY PANELS AND CONCEALING THE BASE PANEL ACROSS SAID GAP; TWO RODS TO SUPPORT THE UPPER EDGES OF SAID FIRE CURTAINS RESPECTIVELY, SAID RODS OVERLAPPING IN LENGTH AT THEIR INNER ENDS; MEANS EXTENDING REARWARDLY FROM THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID AUXILIARY PANELS TO FIXEDLY SUPPORT THE OUTER ENDS OF SAID RODS; AND CENTRAL MEANS EXTENDING REARWARD FROM SAID SUPPORT PANEL TO SLIDINGLY SUPPORT THE OVERLAPPING INNER ENDS OF SAID RODS. 